In you ask Jeff Finkelstein about what his high-tech company Microprocessor Designs does, you will hear an explanation that a low-tech person can easily understand. Finkelstein describes his business as product design and development with a specialty in microcomputer hardware and firmware. It is best known for its embedded firmware, also known as “smarts,” including… Read More »

In choosing his career, Ben Butterfield knew above all else that he needed a job that would involve physical activity to keep him busy. “I realized a long time ago that I needed a job that would keep me moving and keep my hands busy,” Butterfield said. He found the incubator program for beginning farmers… Read More »

Meg Smith recalls her excitement when she was offered the job of Director of the Vermont Women’s Fund in the fall of 2013. A women’s studies major at Hampshire College, she had worked in communications and served on the boards of several nonprofits, and was thrilled to find a job that checked all of her… Read More »

Leyna Jackson thinks her friends from high school would be surprised at how she earns a living. Back then, she wasn’t very involved in social media, but the 26-year-old currently serves as the senior digital marketing specialist at Vermont Teddy Bear. She’s so good at her job that Vermont Business Magazine named her one of… Read More »

Courtney Contos was raised in the restaurant business. Her family ran the legendary Chez Paul in Chicago, as well as other culinary establishments with chefs who hailed from France. Following the family path, Contos decided to go to restaurant management school, where she became so intrigued by the cooking classes that she next enrolled in… Read More »

This year marks Jeff O’Hara’s eighth as co-principal at Hinesburg Community School, and he continues to enjoy working with the middle schoolers who fall under his jurisdiction. Then again, O’Hara has enjoyed working with every age group of students in every capacity since he began his career in education. “Every age has amazing things that… Read More »

Lisa Kent started painting in high school but didn’t see art as a career path. At Smith College, she minored in art but majored in psychology and, unsure of exactly what she wanted to do, started working in retail banking. “I very quickly realized it wasn’t for me,” she said. Kent subsequently enrolled in a… Read More »

Tom O’Brien jokes that the reason he purchased The Wallet Pen from its founder, Burlington jeweler Timothy Grannis, was that he couldn’t keep a job. Self-deprecatory comments aside, O’Brien seems to have found a great work/life balance crafting small, sterling silver pens by hand in Charlotte. O’Brien used to own a commercial woodworking business in… Read More »

In 2000, Cairn Cross and some fellow skiers founded Fresh Tracks Capital in Shelburne. The name of the venture capital firm, which focuses on investing in under-served markets in Vermont and neighboring states, was based on their mutual love of skiing, but Cross has since discovered that the name resonates with other outdoor enthusiasts as… Read More »

Armed with a degree in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont, Melissa Levy spent 17 years working with established organizations on economic development and small-town planning, but two years ago she decided to set out on her own. For the Hinesburg resident, it was an amicable split after 12 years at Yellow Wood… Read More »